MORAL, ETHICAL, AND ACADEMIC CULTURE OF FUTURE TEACHERS UNDER THE WAR IN UKRAINE AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW THROUGHTHE LENS OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

Abstract

This paper offers an analytical synthesis of scholarly approaches to understanding the moral, ethical, and academic culture of future teachers in higher education under the conditions of the war in Ukraine. The review is framed through citizenship education as the normative and value-based foundation of teacher preparation. Central to the discussion is how citizenship education in higher education connects to the formation of a teacher’s triadic culture: moral culture (value orientation and accountability for decisions and the consequences of pedagogical action), ethical culture (norms of interaction, work with conflict, and the prevention of dehumanization and discrimination), and academic culture (honesty, evidence-based reasoning, fairness of assessment procedures, and trust in knowledge). The analysis shows that under the crisis conditions of war and sustained informational pressure, these dimensions cannot be treated in isolation. They either reinforce or undermine one another depending on how a university organizes communication, classroom discussions, academic rules, and support mechanisms for instructors and learners. The paper highlights that teaching in situations of war and social conflict requires pedagogically guided, dialogic practices and deliberate work with biases to avoid stereotyping and destructive societal polarization. The review also examines the impact of digitalization, including control technologies and the rise of generative AI, which reshape the criteria of learner autonomy, authorship, and “legitimate assistance”, intensifying the tension between control and trust in educational practice. It is argued that sustaining academic integrity cannot be reduced to technological solutions alone; rather, it requires a combination of transparent norms, pedagogical innovation, and the development of civic responsibility as a professional quality among teachers. Finally, the paper summarizes research gaps related to the limited integration of these three cultural dimensions in empirical studies and outlines directions for further inquiry relevant to teacher education programs in higher education under wartime conditions.